Yan Shun
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| Yan Shun | |
|---|---|
| Water Margin character | |
| First appearance | Chapter 32 |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | "Multicoloured Tiger" 錦毛虎 |
| Weapon | Sabre |
| Origin | Bandit leader |
| Designation | Tiger Cub Scouting General of Liangshan |
| Rank | 50th, Strong Star (地強星) of the 72 Earthly Fiends |
| Ancestral home / Place of origin | Laizhou (around present-day Yantai, Shandong) |
| Chinese names | |
| Simplified Chinese | 燕顺 |
| Traditional Chinese | 燕順 |
| Pinyin | Yàn Shùn |
| Wade–Giles | Yen Shun |
Yan Shun is a fictional character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Nicknamed "Multicoloured Tiger", he ranks 50th among the 108 Stars of Destiny and 14th among the 72 Earthly Fiends.
Yan Shun, who is nicknamed "Multicoloured Tiger", has reddish brown hair, a yellowish beard, round eyes, long arms, and a wide waist. He fights well, especially with sabre. Initially a trader from Laizhou (萊州; around present-day Yantai, Shandong), he forms a bandit gang at Mount Qingfeng (清風山; in present-day Qingzhou, Shandong). He is subsequently assisted by Wang Ying and Zheng Tianshou.
Meeting Song Jiang
When Song Jiang, on the run from the law after killing his mistress Yan Poxi, is going to Qingfeng Fort (清風寨; near Mount Qingfeng) to take shelter under his friend Hua Rong, he comes by Mount Qingfeng and is captured in a trap by the bandits. They intend to kill him and use his heart to make soup. Just as he is about to be sliced up, Song sighs loudly, "Am I, Song Jiang, destined to die just like this?" Surprised to hear the name of a person he admires for chivalry, Yan Shun interrupts in time to inquire. After confirming Song's identity, the three bandit chiefs quickly free him, apologises to him and treats him as an honoured guest.
As they drink, Wang Ying, who desires pretty women, goes to intercept a group crossing Mount Qingfeng that consists of a sedan chair, which apparently carries a female. Finding the woman attractive, Wang wants to rape her. When the woman says she is the wife of Liu Gao, the governor of Qingfeng Fort, Song Jiang feels obliged to persuade Wang to let her go as Liu is the colleague of Hua Rong, the fort's garrison commandant. Yan Shun agrees with him and pressures Wang to comply. Wang reluctantly agrees.